diff --git a/modules/swagger-codegen/src/main/java/io/swagger/codegen/languages/JavaClientCodegen.java b/modules/swagger-codegen/src/main/java/io/swagger/codegen/languages/JavaClientCodegen.java
index aad744dd1ce4..643e6fc92e1a 100644
--- a/modules/swagger-codegen/src/main/java/io/swagger/codegen/languages/JavaClientCodegen.java
+++ b/modules/swagger-codegen/src/main/java/io/swagger/codegen/languages/JavaClientCodegen.java
@@ -237,6 +237,8 @@ public class JavaClientCodegen extends DefaultCodegen implements CodegenConfig {
 
     @Override
     public String toModelName(String name) {
+        name = sanitizeName(name);
+
         // model name cannot use reserved keyword, e.g. return
         if (reservedWords.contains(name)) {
             throw new RuntimeException(name + " (reserved word) cannot be used as a model name");